Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2023 Weekly Check-Ins
>
Week 13: 3/24 - 3/30

I attended the Steeplechase despite the rain, which thankfully did not become the predicted thunderstorms and had quit by the time I arrived at the racetrack. I had a fantastic time, took some pics with phone (forgot my camera!), and came home exhausted. I saw 5 of the 6 races. What magnificent creatures those horses are!
Tuesday, I went to a yoga and sound bath event (about 3 h) with a friend. We had done a similar thing in January, which I had loved. This time, not so much. I came away with an aching body (joints) and a desire for it to end so I could get home!
Other than that, my week has been rather quiet. The coming weekend, however, will be active again with the Horse Show in Hitchcock Woods on deck for Friday and a visit to the Columbia zoo with a friend on Sunday.
Our weather is still bouncing around between Southern winter and spring. And, the pollen count remains high despite rain. Ugh.
Finished:
Harold and Maude – PS #42 (based on movie). 3*. Interesting story with commentary on many of society’s issues. I didn't love it or hate it. Harold and Maude were both just bizarre enough characters to keep reading about their actions, but I think it was also because this is a very short book that I kept going.
Death of Riley - ALCM. Another continuation of a mystery series that I have started. (Book #2.) I am having a bit of mixed feelings about this book. I like mysteries with strong women, but Molly Murphy is not yet there some of the time. The character is developing but sometimes I feel that the author hasn't yet decided who she is. Still, I gave it 4*.
Song of the Lion – PAS. Another series, book #21. I am liking Anne Hillerman's take on the continuation of her father's series. She is keeping some of the same characters but is developing the female lead. 4*
A Christmas Mystery in Provence – ALCM, RwS. 2.5* (for GR rounded to 3*). The story was interesting for the setting and the mystery, but the writing really bugged me. This author had the main protagonist, Chrissy de Medici, reporting the story. However, when Chrissy was stating what she herself did, every sentence started with the verb, dropping the word "I". Now, I sometimes write that way also, but it occurred so many times in each chapter that it annoyed me, and, at times, I had to re-read a section to find out who did the action. UGH!
For the Love of Mike – ALCM. Book #3 in the Molly Murphy Series. The challenge is to read a book of the same series each month. I was behind so I read Feb and Mar books in the same month. Back on track now, but taking a break until later in April. 4*
O' Artful Death – ALCM, ATY Q1, old challenge. 4*. A cozy mystery about Sweeney St. George who is an art historian with an interest in death art...the kind found on gravestones and markers. She is drawn to discover the stone mason who created a particular memorial on a grave near an art colony of the late 19th century.
The Restorer – ATY Q1. 4* Amelia Gray is a cemetery restorer. She learned the trade from her father, who took care of several cemeteries. She also learned rules from him regarding the ghosts that they both saw. And, then she broke the rules. Fantastic story.
Currently Reading:
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew – Old challenge, PS #36 (friend would like). Kindle. 35%.
The Son – ALCM, PAS, ATY, old challenges. 28%.
The Roman Hat Mystery - ALCM. 26%.
All the Birds in the Sky – ATY Q2, old challenges. 21%
On deck:
Old Wounds – old challenge.
A Pho Love Story - old challenge, PS #6 (forbidden romance)
The Winter Siege - old challenge, ATY Q1
QotW: Do you often gift books to others?
No, I no longer give gifts to most people. I give small gifts to my Leather house members (4), most of whom are not readers and family gifts to my sister and my brother. My sister and brother and sister-in-law are readers, but my niece and her family not so much. Maybe I should re-think the food gifts for book gifts.
PS 12/50 and 6/10 for Nadine’s Challenge
ATY 12/52 and 10/12 for Q1 Challenge, 1/12 for Q2 Challenge
GR 71/200
RwS 3/30 (new seasonal challenge)

My mother used to recommend books to me and, often, she would press me to take one she particularly enjoyed. Inevitably they would be biographies and huge! I seldom read biographies...and huge books intimidate me, so they sit on my shelves still unread. Eventually, maybe.

This week, I finished:
Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult: Not for the challenge: This was interesting, but got a bit repetitive for me and it ended before we got to the point that I was really wanting to know more about.
Currently reading:
Please See Us: second-hand book: I'm making no progress on this one.
The Host: haven't read in 10 years: Very little progress.
QOTW:
Depends. I always gift books to children. Always. (I get them other stuff too.) I gift books to my probation kids frequently. In terms of friends and family, I don't gift books that often, because my taste is different from most of my close friends.

If it's hot right now, I don't even want to imagine how it will be come summer. We get temps that are above 110 sometimes. Can you imagine how bad cars and steering wheels are at those temps? Definitely not fun.
Other than the weather, things have been going pretty well I suppose. Not much else to report on those ends.
Can't believe it's the end of March though. Absolutely insane. Can you believe we're already 1/4 of the way through the year? Time sure is flying.
*****
I haven't finished any books this week, but I have been working on this one:
How to Be an Antiracist
Even though I have the hc, I recently picked up the pb since it has a new preface as well as new annotations which is cool. So far I am really enjoying the book and can understand the hype around it. I find it so fascinating.
*****
Question of the Week
Do you often gift books to others?
Most of the time yes. With my dad I did for a while, but I kind of stopped since a lot of times he wasn't that appreciative. He reads, but not as often so I think he thinks it's a waste of time. Oh well.
I gift books to my mom even though she's not much of a reader. She's more on the collector spectrum which is cool so she doesn't mind.
My sister doesn't mind either, especially if they're books related to her job. She's a teacher so any kid books or books for her own knowledge are always helpful.

*The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
How are you liking this one?
It's been on my tbr for a while. Though I wish they would just release the paperback already. It would be so much easier. Don't know when I'll get to this book, but I want to at some point this year. I'm in no rush.

-I read 8 books for the month of March. I read all nonfiction so I'm proud of myself on that front.
These are the books I read:
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People - 5 star. I wasn't expecting to like this much as I did which was cool. There was so much information that I found very helpful.
I used this for the prompt of books you wish you read in school. While this one wasn't published when I was in school, it's a book I wish I had, because the Native American history we learned was very little and not so accurate.
I've been surprised that I've been giving the YA editions of certain books high ratings. I think I gaved the YA version of Stamped by Ibram X. Kendi a 5 star as well.
Lesbians on Television: New Queer Visibility the Lesbian Normal- 3 star. While I enjoyed this book, it didn't keep my interest like I'd hoped. It was quite dry. The only good sections were on the shows 'The Fosters' and the couples from 'Glee'.
Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick- 3 star. It was fascinating information, but didn't hold my interest too long so this ended up being a DNF.
Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy- 4 star. I enjoyed this book, but because I'm currently going through EMDR myself, I decided to skip the techniques and the case studies. So whether you want to consider this a DNF or not, well that can be up to interpretation at this point.
*****
These next books I consider to be more informational/reference texts, but I still rated what I've read so far and most likely those ratings will stand since I'm very good at identifying books early on.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents- 5 star. Definitely worth the hype. There's so much information so it can be difficult to absorb, but I've been liking it so far. I especially love when I need to do research more on topics so I make notes on those.
Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920-2020- 4 star. Haven't gotten too much into this one, and it's slowly holding my interest. There's a lot of details because it's so much history which has been great.
Woman: The American History of an Idea-TBD. I still haven't rated this one yet because I'm not sure how I feel about it. In a way I'm finding it terrifying. I love the history, don't get me wrong, but to read how women were treated as far back as the 17th century, they're basically treated like second-class citizens, if not less than. Sure things have gotten better, but barely. I'm looking forward to when I get to chapters of the 1990s and the new millennium.
*****
I'm currently working on these ones.
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture- 5 star. This book has been so much fun. I love Mate's take on the concept of normal and how it's a word that is essentially misconstrued and nonexistent because there's really no such thing as 'normal'. I love all of the psychology in his book. I'm barely on chapter 7, but it's been enjoyable.
Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World- 4 star. While I like it, I do wish the book were a bit longer in this case. There's not much else to say really. As a sensitive person myself, it's nice to have a book that delves into this aspect of the human condition that is often dismissed.

QOTW: Yes. Every Christmas, along with their "big" gift, I give all my family members a book I've read that I think they'll like.

Oh and I had started watching all the Studio Ghibli movies in order a year or so ago, with a fair amount of breaks in between where I would get distracted, but this week we FINALLY watched Princess Mononoke! I loved it. Absolutely gorgeous. How it didn't get selected for a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination the year it was submitted is completely beyond me.
And happy Opening Day 2023 to any and all baseball fans!! My team doesn't play til late (the perks* of opening the season on the west coast) but wishing good luck and health to all on this year's campaign!
*detriments
Finished:
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun - 2.5 stars. This is the latest book in the series, and while it was very messy it still managed to be entertaining. I'm holding out hope for the sequel. Main character's name in the title
PS 19/50
ATY 18/52
Mount TBR 16/60
Currently:
Sworn to the Night - the first book in Schaefer's crossover trilogy, uniting the characters from the high fantasy Revanche Cycle, urban fantasy series Daniel Faust, and spinoff series Harmony Black. I've really enjoyed this and I'm deeply glad I have the other two books so I can zoom through the trilogy. This final 100 pages promises to be intense; I'm excited to see whether it makes the book a 4 or 5-star read.
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder - I'm past halfway in this, and I may finish it tomorrow if all goes well. This has been a fascinating look at beloved Little House author Laura Ingalls Wilder's actual life (and that of her daughter Rose), rather than what was fictionalized in her books.
Upcoming:
I'm already eyeballing an April stack, but the most realistic next book on the list is Detonation Boulevard.
QOTW: Do you often gift books to others?
If they ask for them, or if I've read it and it seems like something they would enjoy.
Ashley Marie wrote: "Oh and I had started watching all the Studio Ghibli movies in order a year or so ago, with a fair amount of breaks in between where I would get distracted, but this week we FINALLY watched Princess Mononoke!..."
we are big time Ghibli fans!! (Which is why one of my tie dyes was Haku from Sprited Away, and I am now planning to tie dye a Totoro and a Ponyo ...)
Do you know about Ghibli Fest? Every month a Studio Ghibli movie is in the theaters for a few days. Princess Mononoke is on the list this year, in early August.
https://gkids.com/ghiblifest/#line-up
we are big time Ghibli fans!! (Which is why one of my tie dyes was Haku from Sprited Away, and I am now planning to tie dye a Totoro and a Ponyo ...)
Do you know about Ghibli Fest? Every month a Studio Ghibli movie is in the theaters for a few days. Princess Mononoke is on the list this year, in early August.
https://gkids.com/ghiblifest/#line-up
Bea wrote: "Happy Thursday!
I attended the Steeplechase despite the rain, which thankfully did not become the predicted thunderstorms and had quit by the time I arrived at the racetrack. I had a fantastic tim..."
You've been so busy!!!!
(I had to google to figure out what a sound bath is! I like yoga, but three hours might be too much yoga for me.)
I attended the Steeplechase despite the rain, which thankfully did not become the predicted thunderstorms and had quit by the time I arrived at the racetrack. I had a fantastic tim..."
You've been so busy!!!!
(I had to google to figure out what a sound bath is! I like yoga, but three hours might be too much yoga for me.)

It's chilly and drizzly here. It feels like the weather has finally gotten the hint that it's supposed to be spring and is trying to behave accordingly. Though the rainy weather makes me want to call in sick to work and just curl up with a blanket and a good book...
Books read this week:
Bryony and Roses -- for the PopSugar prompt “a modern adaptation of a classic story” and the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “retelling of a fairy tale or classic story.” Yet another T Kingfisher book that fits a prompt, but hey, why not? This Beauty and the Beast retelling has several things in common with Rose Daughter, but I think I prefer Kingfisher’s retelling.
George Lucas: A Life -- for the PopSugar prompt “book about or set in Hollywood” and the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “about someone who changed the world.” The last biography of George Lucas I read, Skywalking: The Life And Films of George Lucas, was published in 1983 and hero-worshiped him pretty hard, so it was nice to read a biography that’s both updated and gives a more balanced look at the man who brought us Star Wars.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers -- for the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “humor.” You’d think a book about dead bodies wouldn’t be funny… and I’ll be honest, parts of this book were more morbid and somewhat gross than funny. But Mary Roach does her best to give us a book that’s both informative and funny while still being respectful, and she mostly succeeds.
Let the Right One In -- for the PopSugar prompt “book that takes place the decade you were born” and the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “made into a TV show.” Definitely dark and not for the faint of heart, but chilling and fascinating. A bit overlong in my opinion, though…
Currently Reading:
The Martian -- for “book you wish you could read for the first time”
The Bachman Books -- for “book with just text on the cover”
A House with Good Bones -- for “book published in the spring of 2023”
How the Penguins Saved Veronica -- for “book with the main character’s name in the title”
QOTW:
I rarely gift books -- if I gift someone a book, I want to be sure it's something they'll read. Ironically, despite saying this, I got several people books for Christmas this last year -- a couple of cookbooks, a quilting book, a coffee-table book about Paris, and an art book for someone's favorite video game.

It has been a super busy week, but I’ve managed to get quite a bit accomplished. I’ve spent most of the week working on various household projects, mostly unpacking my remaining moving boxes. I’ve been listening to the My Favorite Murder podcast while I work, so I’ve actually enjoyed getting things done.
I also managed to do quite a bit of reading this week!
Over the weekend, I was able to finish two series, including the Hamish Macbeth mysteries, which I was reading as part of my participation in March Mystery Madness, and the Demon Slayer series, which I read during the Mini-Manga Readathon.
Completing these two series also allowed me to finish my climb up Mount Olympus for the Mount TBR Challenge! I’m so excited to have read so many books from my TBR list this early in the year. I really feel like I’ve been making progress.
Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…
Goodreads Challenge: 201/400 (Just past the halfway point!)
Mount TBR Challenge: 150/150 (Challenge Complete!)
📚Physical TBR: 137/634
📱Ebook TBR: 6/236
🎧Audiobook TBR: 11/13
TBR Checklist Total: 154/883 (17.4% complete)
This week I picked up several new books, including: Ordeal by Innocence, by Agatha Christie (graphic novel adaptation by Chandre); Final Fantasy VII Remake: Traces of Two Pasts, by Kazushige Nojima; Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Under the Spell, by Sina Grace; That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Vol. 21, by Fuse; and Bone: Rose, by Jeff Smith. Since buying these books, I’ve already been able to read four out of the five, and I’m looking forward to reading the fifth very soon.
My goal over the next couple of weeks is to get caught up on the books I’ve bought since the beginning of the year. I’ve made a pretty decent amount of progress already, since I’ve read 64.6% of the titles on my “New Books” list, but I’d really like to have at least 80-85% of my list completed by mid-April. I think that’s somewhere between 10-14 books in two weeks? Given the titles remaining on my list, it should be do-able.
“New” Books Bought in 2023: 65
“New” Books Read in 2023: 42/65 (64.6% complete)
Here are the books I finished this week…
Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Unwind— This is the first book in Neal Shusterman’s Unwind Dystology. While I didn’t rate this book quite as highly as Scythe, I thought it had an interesting premise, and really liked the characters. I’ve already started reading book two, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series as well. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Ordeal by Innocence — I really enjoyed this standalone Agatha Christie mystery! 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In addition to the novels I listed above, I also finished reading the Hamish Macbeth series, including the most recent release! This was such a great mystery series! I really enjoyed all of the books and short stories, and I would definitely enjoy reading the entire series again in the future. The titles I read this week include…
~Death of a Green-Eyed Monster — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Death of a Traitor — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Knock, Knock, You're Dead! — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Death of a Laird — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Under the Spell — This graphic novel was a collection of four Labyrinth stories, which focused on various inhabitants of the Labyrinth. I really enjoyed all of the stories, and thought the artwork was great. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Vol. 21 — This volume was a great continuation of the series. I’m really looking forward to reading the next one, which (unfortunately) does not come out until the end of July. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Ordeal by Innocence — This graphic novel was a really good adaptation of Agatha Christie’s original novel. It was a very quick read, and I really liked the artwork. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Captain Marvel by Kelly Sue Deconnick Omnibus — This was my first time reading any of the Captain Marvel comic books, and I really enjoyed them. The stories and artwork featured in this collection are fantastic! 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bone: Rose— This graphic novel is a prequel to Jeff Smith’s Bone: The Complete Edition. It was an interesting story, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the other books in the series. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This week I also finished reading the Demon Slayer series, which I really enjoyed. The volumes I read this week include…
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 17 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 18 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 19 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 20 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 21 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 22 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 23 — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None
DNFed:
None
Currently Reading:
~UnWholly— This is the second book in the Unwind Dystology. I’m really enjoying the story so far, and I’m interested to see where the series will go from here. 📚
~Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective — This is a collection of short mysteries featuring a retired statistics compiler-turned-detective named Parker Pyne. I’m currently about a third of the way into this book, and I’ve enjoyed the cases I’ve read so far. It’s been fun to see other Agatha Christie characters (such as Miss Lemon and Ariadne Oliver) show up in some of these stories. 📚
~The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Chronicles II: Creatures & Characters — I just started this behind-the-scenes book last night, so I’m not very far into it, but I’m really enjoying it so far. 📚
QOTW:
I mostly give gifts for birthdays and Christmas, and I do give books as gifts on those occasions. I also like to try and pair the books I’m gifting with items that I think go well with the story (I.e. chocolate frogs or butterbeer with Harry Potter books, plushies or action figures with manga or comic books, etc.).
Happy Thursday!! my crocuses are blooming, but that's as far as spring has gotten here. We got a little bit of snow last night, but not much.
I am dog-sitting again, so it's extra chaos here with a third dog. He goes home tomorrow (I hope) - I look forward to being able to walk in a straight line again - he's one of those "velcro dogs" always nearby, always in the way, always blocking the path I need to walk, always needing my attention. He's not a small dog, he's a Chow mix (basically, picture a really big teddy bear with extra floof, and that's him), when he lies down he completely blocks the hallway or doorway, and when I GINGERLY step over him, he wags his tail, so I have to be really careful to not step on it. At least he doesn't leap up when I'm halfway across him. It's nice that he's affectionate and clearly loves me (or loves that I feed him hahah!).
Tomorrow I have a half day at work so I can leave in the afternoon to go pick up my college kid for spring break! Hurray! My kid still comes home to me for spring break!! I'm looking forward to seeing her again.
This week I finished 2 books, 1 for this Challenge & 1 for the "winter" Challenge aka "Nadine's Challenge," so I am now 17/50 & 3/10 respectively.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - I did NOT like this book. I celebrated when I finally finished it. I don't like books that are about charmingly quirky people. I don't mind quirky people, but when the entire plot of the book is "this person is sooooo quirky, she's not like other girls," then I am annoyed. As a middle-aged woman in STEM myself, I found the representation in this book to be completely ludicrous. This is not what we are like, and it was so much harder than this in the 60s. I used this for "becoming a movie or show in 2023" (and for "school subject in the title" in AtY).
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec - I wanted to love this book, but it was just all right. I checked off "based on Norse mythology" with this one (and it was a perfect fit!)
And I set one book aside
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh - this book and I were not getting along. I was already annoyed by Lessons so I had no more patience to give. I'm not officially DNFing it, but ... I'm pretty sure I'm never going to read it again.
Oh who am I kidding, this is a DNF, with all the other books I want to read, I'm never getting back to this one. I'm changing its shelf from "back-burnered" to "DNF."
Pop: 17/50
Winter: 3/10
AtY: 14/52
2023 must-reads: 2/12
QotW
YES! And it's rarely appreciated LOL!!
Occasionally, I'll give someone a book because I don't know what else to get them, but usually I give them a book because I read the book (or read ABOUT the book) and thought they'd like it. I think I pick out really good books!!!
I really only give gifts to four people nowadays: my daughters, my mother, and my ex-husband. Ex is not a reader, but he is a fan of certain things, so every now and then the perfect book shows up, like the book written by Dave Grohl's mother. My mother is a reader, but not nearly as big a reader as I am, and she does not like to own a lot of things, so I only get her a book when it's something I think she'll really love but probably not come across on her own (because her method of picking books is to randomly grab a book from the library's free shelf), like I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life or Girl Waits with Gun. My kids don't read nearly as much as I did at their age, but they read some, and I think I have a pretty good idea of what they like. The only one who really seems to try hard to read the books I give her is my older daughter; I went a little overboard two years ago, so she's got a bit of a backlog right now, but at least that means she has choices.
Ironically, I do not really like to RECEIVE books as gifts. I appreciate the sentiment, but there are so many OTHER books I want to read that I don't get around to reading the gift.
I am dog-sitting again, so it's extra chaos here with a third dog. He goes home tomorrow (I hope) - I look forward to being able to walk in a straight line again - he's one of those "velcro dogs" always nearby, always in the way, always blocking the path I need to walk, always needing my attention. He's not a small dog, he's a Chow mix (basically, picture a really big teddy bear with extra floof, and that's him), when he lies down he completely blocks the hallway or doorway, and when I GINGERLY step over him, he wags his tail, so I have to be really careful to not step on it. At least he doesn't leap up when I'm halfway across him. It's nice that he's affectionate and clearly loves me (or loves that I feed him hahah!).
Tomorrow I have a half day at work so I can leave in the afternoon to go pick up my college kid for spring break! Hurray! My kid still comes home to me for spring break!! I'm looking forward to seeing her again.
This week I finished 2 books, 1 for this Challenge & 1 for the "winter" Challenge aka "Nadine's Challenge," so I am now 17/50 & 3/10 respectively.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - I did NOT like this book. I celebrated when I finally finished it. I don't like books that are about charmingly quirky people. I don't mind quirky people, but when the entire plot of the book is "this person is sooooo quirky, she's not like other girls," then I am annoyed. As a middle-aged woman in STEM myself, I found the representation in this book to be completely ludicrous. This is not what we are like, and it was so much harder than this in the 60s. I used this for "becoming a movie or show in 2023" (and for "school subject in the title" in AtY).
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec - I wanted to love this book, but it was just all right. I checked off "based on Norse mythology" with this one (and it was a perfect fit!)
And I set one book aside
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh - this book and I were not getting along. I was already annoyed by Lessons so I had no more patience to give. I'm not officially DNFing it, but ... I'm pretty sure I'm never going to read it again.
Oh who am I kidding, this is a DNF, with all the other books I want to read, I'm never getting back to this one. I'm changing its shelf from "back-burnered" to "DNF."
Pop: 17/50
Winter: 3/10
AtY: 14/52
2023 must-reads: 2/12
QotW
YES! And it's rarely appreciated LOL!!
Occasionally, I'll give someone a book because I don't know what else to get them, but usually I give them a book because I read the book (or read ABOUT the book) and thought they'd like it. I think I pick out really good books!!!
I really only give gifts to four people nowadays: my daughters, my mother, and my ex-husband. Ex is not a reader, but he is a fan of certain things, so every now and then the perfect book shows up, like the book written by Dave Grohl's mother. My mother is a reader, but not nearly as big a reader as I am, and she does not like to own a lot of things, so I only get her a book when it's something I think she'll really love but probably not come across on her own (because her method of picking books is to randomly grab a book from the library's free shelf), like I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life or Girl Waits with Gun. My kids don't read nearly as much as I did at their age, but they read some, and I think I have a pretty good idea of what they like. The only one who really seems to try hard to read the books I give her is my older daughter; I went a little overboard two years ago, so she's got a bit of a backlog right now, but at least that means she has choices.
Ironically, I do not really like to RECEIVE books as gifts. I appreciate the sentiment, but there are so many OTHER books I want to read that I don't get around to reading the gift.
Kenya wrote: "Let the Right One In -- for the PopSugar prompt “book that takes place the decade you were born” and the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “made into a TV show.” Definitely dark and not for the faint of heart, but chilling and fascinating. A bit overlong in my opinion, though…..."
I LOVED that movie when I saw it (the original - I later watched the American version and that was good, too, but it was the original that got my attention, it was SO WEIRD). So when I discovered that it was based on a book I was all "YES I must read this book!!!!" But I DNF'ed it!! So wordy, so slow, so NOT capturing my attention. This is that rare case where the movie was better than the book.
I LOVED that movie when I saw it (the original - I later watched the American version and that was good, too, but it was the original that got my attention, it was SO WEIRD). So when I discovered that it was based on a book I was all "YES I must read this book!!!!" But I DNF'ed it!! So wordy, so slow, so NOT capturing my attention. This is that rare case where the movie was better than the book.

My daughter got out of the hospital and recovered from her flare-up, only to come down with CROUP! (She's 15, so technically she "has a parainfluenza virus" but in the last day the cough has come to be pretty croupy.) I tell you, we live in the weirdest timeline.
Finished:
Night Film - ⭐⭐ - @Nadine, you were spot on about this one. So frustrating, because the premise was really promising!
Bunny - ⭐⭐ - I was so intrigued by the wild reviews, and this certainly had some audacity that I admired, but ultimately it became irritating and overlong. Lots of the poorer reviews say stuff like, "I think this was too weird for me," and "I guess horror isn't my thing." No, y'all, this is just not a great execution of weird fiction/horror. The main character is whiny and immature. Her "cool" friend is quickly revealed to have no personality beyond saying how stupid everyone and everything is. The Bunnies seem like high schoolers rather than graduate students, which could be seen as deliberate, except that the MC and her friend seem at the same level too. Then it gets super weird and intriguing, and then it just gets tiresome and pointless.
Currently reading:
Dead Silence - Titanic meets Event Horizon? Sign me up! I'm really liking this. For a moment I worried that it was focusing on the main character's trauma too much, and worried we might go in an "it's all a dream" direction (5 spits of a curse on that trope!), but Barnes is turning it in a novel and skillful direction, in my opinion. Can't wait to see what happens next!
QOTW:
I was going to say that I hardly ever gift books because it's so hard to tell what someone will really want to read, but then I remembered that I give books as gifts every single year for Jolabokaflod! We're not Icelandic but it seemed such a lovely tradition, we adopted it.
Every year I ask my daughters what books they'd be interested in and buy exactly what they want. I gave up on my husband because he either reads highly technical work-related books, or takes literally years to finish a book. And once he starts, he'll read a book like a life-or-death assignment, no matter how much he hates it, so I don't want to inflict a book he doesn't like on him!

If there ever was a book I thought "Nadine won't like this", it is that book. It was such a disappointment for me. I wanted cooking science!

My original post was lost to the aether because I accidently clicked the X to close it.
It's almost April. I can't believe it. We are still stuck in 3rd winter. I woke up to snow-covered slush yesterday morning. I had to sweep off the step to be able to walk out without dying. So I had to shoe the kids away so i could do that first. When I finally got that done, I had to wrangle dogs. I had to push the Ziggy, the chiweener, out by his butt, and then as he went out to do his business, I had to go find the chihuahua, Reba, who went to hide in my bedroom. It was 4:30 am. All the snow was melting and pouring off the roof, I was without coffee. There was no sun. It was miserable.
By late afternoon, it was mostly dry because of the wind. It's supposed to be sunny the next two days before clouds come back for the weekend with more wind.
I've been slowing on my reading because I've been tired. Reba doesn't understand the time change. She just has to potty when she has to potty. Routines are nice if they aren't disturbed by unhelpful and pretty useless time changes. So she thinks 4 is 5 o'clock.
So, last night I told her that i would be very upset if she woke me up before the box (alarm clock) went off. And amazingly (despite the middle of the night dog shifting wake ups) she let me sleep until the box went off! Ziggy is the couch potato that doesn't care as long as they are by their human. Dachshunds are like that.
Popsugar:9/50
Finished: None
Reading:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -- Not this version, but it's al the same. ps 4
Aty:10/52
Finished:None
Reading: None
Goodreads Challenge 210/400
Finished:
Getting Closer to You, Vol. 1
Boss Wife, Vol. 1
Boss Wife, Vol. 2
I Swear I Won't Bother You Again! Vol. 1
I Swear I Won't Bother You Again! Vol. 2
7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (Light Novel) Vol. 2
Bride of the Barrier Master, Vol. 1
I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too, Vol. 1 (light novel) (I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too
The World's Fastest Level Up (Light Novel) Vol. 1
Bunny Will Not Smile!: Ready-to-Read Level 1
Arrogant Bratva Bastard
Daddy’s Billionaire Doctor
Reading:
I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 3
The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 1
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Nadine's Mini Challenge 7/10
Finished:None
Reading: None
Mount TBR:
27/150 Ebook
21/150 Physical
QOTW:
All the time. I buy ebooks for certain people. I bought books for my sister the last two Christmases because that's what she wanted. I buy my niece and nephew books for the hell of it. I have no problem gifting books to people.
If I know they will enjoy the book, I will most likely give them a book.

Currently Reading
First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew for "book with alliteration in the title". Almost done. It's been really good so far.
Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspectives on the Nature of the Human Person for "book published in the year you were born." REALLY heady, but really good so far too!
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology for "book about/set in Hollywood". Over halfway and this is just an insane read. I'm so proud of her for putting all of this out there knowing how it would be received.
QotW
Sometimes! I think giving books is a really intimate gesture (probably because I love them so much), so I don't do it often. Only when there's a book I know the person would enjoy or would help them. I like when books are gifted to me!
Ellie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - I did NOT like this book..."
If there ever was a book I thought "Nadine won't like this", it is that book. It was such a disappointment..."
LOL well you were 100% correct!!!
I mean, it didn't SEEM like a book I would like, but every now and then I end up LOVING that book that everyone else loves, too. So I like to give buzzy books a try now and then. This one was such a FAIL for me.
I am still angry that we were meant to believe that a person who loves to cook, and takes cooking seriously, and even owns and travels with her own set of knives, would DESTROY her kitchen. And how did she cook, if she demolished her kitchen? It was never explained. It was her "lab" but she also still seemed to be able to produce home cooked food.
If there ever was a book I thought "Nadine won't like this", it is that book. It was such a disappointment..."
LOL well you were 100% correct!!!
I mean, it didn't SEEM like a book I would like, but every now and then I end up LOVING that book that everyone else loves, too. So I like to give buzzy books a try now and then. This one was such a FAIL for me.
I am still angry that we were meant to believe that a person who loves to cook, and takes cooking seriously, and even owns and travels with her own set of knives, would DESTROY her kitchen. And how did she cook, if she demolished her kitchen? It was never explained. It was her "lab" but she also still seemed to be able to produce home cooked food.

I finished This One Summer. Pretty meh for me. I felt like the preteens and teens were realistic, but something didn't quite click for me. Not sure what prompt I'll use it for.
I also made progress in several books.
Got back into When Christ and His Saints Slept, still really enjoying it, it's just long.
Listened to some more of Les Miserables for my longest book, though I feel like this is the year of long books. Seriously, can I pick up something less than 400 pages??
(No, no I cannot...) Started The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism, interesting so far on Halifax's history, just getting to their role in WWI. I think I'll use it for favorite prompt from last year, man-made disaster. It was the biggest explosion ever until the atomic bombs.
Also started Coming Clean, it's a free read on Amazon prime and it's been on my TBR for almost a decade.
I'm really irritated, though. I have a hold on Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage, which I've wanted to read since I heard about it before it was released. I almost bought a copy, which I never buy new books for myself, but I resisted. I'm eagerly awaiting for my hold to come in at the library, and I can see that the person who has it out was supposed to return it 5 days ago!! Get on the ball, Person!! (First World book problems... )
QOTW: I always buy books for gifts. I'm sure my nieces and nephews roll their eyes, but tough. My mom has the best track record of reading the books I buy, but I know her tastes really well. I guess I don't worry too much about if people read what I buy. *I* don't read half the books I buy for myself! lol Someone once told me that having shelves stocked with books will ensure that you always have something to read in case you're ever unable to get out and around. Given my health issues and then the pandemic... it can happen!

I can’t believe March is still not over. It just keeps dragging?? Which makes no sense given how my weekends were spent. I believe it might be because of recovery feeling like it’s never ending and hurrying up.
Weather is all over the place. Sun, wind, hail, rain. It’s a free for all!
Bunnies are all doing well, and so are the cats! Zira meowing at the door to be let in is heartbreaking though cuz we still have to keep them apart for 3 weeks more before we can move on to the next step, which would still mean keeping them apart. Send good vibes. This morning she brought me her toy and I melted, haha!
Puzzle: Only worked on it for one day more due to exhaustion and recovery, but I managed to add the entire film strip and some of the actual edges! (Surprisingly everything I had connected already before giving up cuz there’s no way of knowing if it’s correct turned out to be right!) Found two of the missing pieces, still 3 white ones to go. Fingers crossed for the beige ones I put aside!
Concert: WAS AMAZING. We’re hoping to go again next year! Absolutely broke me though xD
Disney: Really excited for the next trip in April, and we’re planning a trip in October with my carer and a friend of mine/another client. We got the news today though that Annual Pass sales have been suspended and that new passes are coming later this year so I am really hoping they won’t outprice me, that would devastate me. It’s my one safe space!
Various: Had a dentist visit today, and I think it’s time to accept I’m scared of going after years of being berated and ridiculed. But she was super kind, complimented me on my progress and said things looked much better than before already! Also understood why I didn’t use the toothpicks (there was peppermint/menthol on it and I’m allergic) and that I didn’t know what else I could use, so she now gave me something else. Score! She was even understanding on my financial situation and scheduled my next appointment later so there’s only one more this year and not two! Now we just have to see whether we’ll get my wisdom teeth pulled this year or next year. I’m so proud of myself for going back!
Reading
…I read the first part of Six of Crows and a bunch of fanfic. And my daily Moby-Dick chapters (though today might be another skip cuz it’s 8 pages and I don’t feel well). Woops. And next week the new Dreamlight Valley update comes out so jshkdf wish me luck. Ohwell, the year is long still!
QOTW
Not really, but that’s because my current closest friends don’t read much. I get books for my best friend and sister mostly. The former gives me specific books to buy (we read completely different genres and this way we don’t mess up hahaha) and my sister I pick for because I can judge very easily if she’ll like something or not. Often I’ll have read it myself already. Also my mom sometimes, but honestly her reading habits/preferences are very boring to me so it gives me no joy xD
I do agree with the expert, clearly. Only buy when you’re certain!

I listened to it on audio and gave it 2 stars. Way too long indeed. I also remember nothing beyond that xD

Oh yes!! I think this is what re-jumpstarted my Ghibli watch a few months ago.


Super grateful for my GP being awesome this week. I ran out of thyroid meds because the hospital are far too optimistic that paperwork will get done in a certain time. But my GP just accepted a copy of the instructions I had and issued my prescription without fuss, so I only had a couple of days gap. But I really noticed the difference in my mood those days.
Weather has been wet and grey. Hello spring! At least it's not that cold.
Finished:
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs for ATY (a second book that fits my favourite prompt - a book about books) and Nadine's Mini Challenge (flames on the cover). Magic books written in human blood and sneaky secret societies that protect (hoard) them. It's been ages since I read anything that I had to really tear myself away from but this was one of those books. Lots of intrigue that I wanted to know what was going to be revealed next.
My Murder by Katie Williams for ATY (deception/con). This was a fast paced read but boy am I annoyed that the tagline is something revealed at 60%. I don't think the US cover does that so I won't say what it is. Anyway it's about a murdered woman who is cloned along with other victims of a serial killer who she attends a support group with. There's VR and post-partum depression thrown in, I liked it despite the spoiler.
A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis for historical fiction and ATY (one of 3 centuries). The last book in the Brontë sisters mysteries, which I've really enjoyed. This one is based on the Haworth Poisoner.
Ghosts in the Hedgerow: A Hedgehog Whodunnit by Tom Moorhouse not for any prompt that I can see right now. Non-fiction about hedgehogs but framed as a sort of murder mystery, which was a bit silly but the information on the plight of hedgehogs was interesting and useful. I can feel proud that our barren small garden of 7 years ago is now part of a hedgehog's nightly route.
I seem to have read a lot about death this week…
PS: 21/40 | ATY: 21/52 | GR: 34/100
QOTW:
While I give a lot of books away, I don't often specifically give them as a gift. My partner prefers reading ebooks and I don't feel a download code has the same appeal as a gift, so I've stopped buying him books. I just tell him about ones I think he might like and he can buy them himself.
I did get my parents Bournville for Christmas because it is set where they grew up and starts about the same time they were born, going through the decades. So I thought that was of special interest, though I don't know if they liked it! I keep forgetting to ask.

Finished:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - 4 stars - for a book set in or about Hollywood. The bisexual rep in this felt so validating and so well done.
Comics & manga:
Persona 5, Vol. 2
Spy x Family, Vol. 9
I am currently at 16/50 for Popsugar (10/40 and 6/10). I am also at 8/10 for Nadine's Mini-Challenge #1.
Currently reading:
The Echo Wife - I've started reading along with the audiobook in an ebook copy, and it's actually a very nice way to read it. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it.
Upcoming/Planned:
The Witch's Heart
QOTW:
I don't give physical books as gifts unless I know it's something the recipient will enjoy and they haven't already read it. Often, if I want to give someone books for a gift, I'll give a gift card.

Personal 2023 challenge: 25/50
Nadine's mini-challenge: 6/10
Mount Munch challenge: 12/36
Right now, I'm really focused on getting through the books I've checked out from the local university. You can keep them out indefinitely, unless someone requests them, so some of them I've literally had out for years!
Finished: Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order Did a good job of covering the impact of the pandemic throughout the world. Posits China and the U.S. as the new global leaders.
Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work for prompt joyful POC. Very conversational and frank tone.
The Categorical Imperative: A Study in Kant's Moral Philosophy MM
Kant: A Biography Uugh... this was pretty boring! MM
Rethinking Intuition: The Psychology of Intuition and its Role in Philosophical Inquiry Quality varied a lot from essay to essay MM
Started: Making Meetings Work: Achieving High Quality Group Decisions Not super helpful. Too abstract. MM
QotW: I give books all the time. I can't help it. I really enjoy getting books into the hands of people who I think will appreciate them. I've stopped giving books to my MIL though, because she always assumes that if someone gives her a book, it's from me!

Finished:
Batman: The Court of Owls by Greg Cox (3/5, not for a prompt)
It dishes out pretty much the stuff you would expect from a Batman novel. It's satisfying, but I don't feel I need to read it a second time, so that is why it gets three stars.
Question of the Week:
I give books as gifts to my kids, but other than that, it is rare.

My family played a board game (Spyfall) last night. Winner got to determine what Studo Ghibli movie we would watch. Princess Mononoke was in the running, but we ended up re-watching Ponyo. So much fun! Love all the Studio Ghibli stuff.

https://gkids.com/ghiblifest/#line-up..."
Oh! Thanks for sharing that link! The Spirited Away live on stage looks particularly interesting.

Oh, I'm glad you said this! This author came for an event and I chose not to go because I don't usually enjoy light-hearted romance, which this seemed to be. Your opinion confirms my decision!

Challenge Progress: 19/50 It may actually be more than this count but I really haven't even looked at the list in ages. I'm totally distracted by Cricut right now.
Nadine's 1st Quarter Mini-Challenge: 10/10
Completed:
Fiona and Jane ★★★★
Kept Animals ★★★★
The Art of Logic in an Illogical World ★★★
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together ★★★★★
Lore Olympus: Volume Three ★★★★





Currently Reading:
Sam
Nettle & Bone
A History of Wild Places
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
The World We Make
Blaze Me a Sun
If He Had Been with Me
QOTW: Yes. But not to people I know don't read.

CURRENTLY READING:
Soul of the Deep
Wrong Place Wrong Time Currently listening to this. I definitely love these type of books where there's a mystery and a time loop scenario.
Question of the Week
Do you often gift books to others?
My mom and nephew are readers so I give them gift cards to the bookstore so they can pick out their own books because I normally don't know what they want to read at that time.
I have been buying books to give to my 3 month old granddaughter for my son to read to her lol.

PS: 15/50
Total 2023: 17
Finished
De Effingers by Gabriele Tergit ⭐⭐⭐
PS #31, a book about a family
It's an ode to the bourgeouis jewish merchant Berlin of the 1880's to 1920's. Progress crushes the families in this book. And finally the nazi's.
Tropenbruid by Susan Smit⭐⭐⭐
PS #17, a book with a love triangle
19 year old orphan with depressions in Amsterdam marries a rich colonist in Batavia (now: Jakarta, Indonesia) to seek adventure. Colonist has 2 daughters from his mistress, something that our 19 year old only finds out already there. Then she discovers he has an affair with the governess. Eldest daughter misses her mom and an orphan herself our 19 yo visits the mother. Meets a young man while visiting the mistress, falls in love and that young man turns out to be her husband’s son. Yeah, when something is a little bit too much it is. Nice read though.
Currently reading
The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
QOTW
All my nieces and nephews get a book for their birthday. Reading is important, so I promote reading (I’m auntie books, smile, when we enter with our presents they are screaming 'a book! a book!'). Some of them do not have a library subscription, even though it’s free for kids almost everywhere in the Netherlands. So they get a book from me. And for those who do go to the library are super excited they now have their own book.
I give books less often to adults. Only when I’m really sure 'that book is for xx!'.

Snollebollekes 😅 It's a Dutch 'party act'. For an idea you should Youtube 'Snollebollekes Links Rechts' and click the 538 Koningsdag 2019 one! It was a lot of jumping and dancing (to both Snollebollekes and the countless guest performances) and it was so much fun!

It has been forever since I have checked in. Reading has been really weird for me this year. My vision is doing strange things so I have had to fall back on audiobooks. I have read a lot good things and even led February's Group Book Discussion.
Fair warning my list will be kind of long because I don't think I have checked in since January.
Read:
🌟🌟🌟 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (#37; Book Club)
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 What I Carry by Jennifer Longo (Gateway Nominee)
🌟🌟🌟🌟 The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Gateway Nominee; #17)
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Gateway Nominee)
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Becoming by Michelle Obama (# 8, 21, 30)
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (#42, 43)
🌟 Mansfield Park Jane Austen (#34; Book Club)
🌟🌟 Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (Blackathon; #6)
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Walking in My Joy: Stories from on My Way to Happy by Jenifer Lewis (#11)
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston (#16)
🌟🌟🌟 Fable by Adrienne Young (Gateway Nominee)
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
🌟🌟 Golden Arm by Carl Deuker (Gateway Nominee)
🌟🌟🌟 The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (#7)
🌟🌟🌟🌟 If These Wings Could Fly by Kyrie McCauley (Gateway Nominee; #15~Song: Wings by Bird)
🌟🌟🌟🌟Gwendy's Button Box and Gwendy's Magic Feather by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Blackout: A Novel by Dhonielle Clayton (#9)
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Girl on the Run by Abigail Johnson (Gateway Nominee)
🌟🌟🌟🌟 How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi (#22; Gateway Nominee)
🌟 Secrets We Kept Til Morning and Secrets We Kept Til Morning 2 by Deshon Dreamz
🌟🌟🌟🌟Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Whew (wipes brow)! That was a lot. I had some winners and some losers.
Currently Reading:
Fluffy: Caribbean Erotic Short Story by Kimolisa Mings
Emma by Jane Austen
African Myths by Jake Jackson
Sensual Dimensions by Rianne Burnett
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston






April TBR:
Legends & Lattes
29 Without You: a collection of poems and essays (mostly) chronicling my 28th trip around the sun
Crimson Death
Gwendy's Final Task
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute
QOTW
Books are one of my favorite things to give. I especially like to give kids books. My niece and nephew are growing up in an environment that is not very diverse and as an educator I have made it my mission to give them books in which they can see characters that look like them and share their experiences.
This year I am trying to collect enough copies of The Five People You Meet in Heaven to give as a graduation gift to my graduating seniors in my class. I just feel like that book has a lot of good life lessons in it.

Snollebollekes 😅 It's a Dutch 'party act'. For an idea you should Youtube 'Snollebollekes Links Rechts' and click the 538 Koningsdag 2019 one! ..."
I looked up the video, and that looks like a ton of fun! The lead singer is the opposite of phoning it in, and I like the crowns.

We are doing that. We rotate between the kids, myself and my husband picking movies, and we added the Studio Ghibli movies into the rotation like it's a 5th family member. :)

It's been snowing here, again. Spring doesn't really start until April. I've been trying to finish books off so that I can start new books in April, but only one finished this week.
Finished:
The Jane Austen Project
ATY prompt: A book with the sun, moon, or stars on the cover
Popsugar prompt: A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge
(Recommended by a friend or recommended by someone you just met. Really it was recommended to me by someone on Goodreads)
Series - 4/15
Series Completed: - Lying Games, Bronwyn the Witch, Divergent
Nobel laureates - 1/7
Random books - 2/7
ATY - 12/40
PS - 12/30
Nadine's 23 challenge - 8/10
Around the year in 52 movies - 15/52
15. Three movies, each of which is set in a different century: Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (50BC)
Currently reading:
A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories - 95% done
Prentice Alvin - 90% done
Penguin Island - 20% done
QOTW: We used to buy the kids too many presents. To cut it down, we moved to "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read." I used to buy my kids books twice a year and they got read. They are 17 and 20 and the 20 year old only got back into reading for pleasure last year. The younger one has been off books for 2 years. It breaks my heart, although I stopped reading in university because I was reading too much required reading and it killed my desire to read for fun. I came back to it later on and I guess my younger one can too.
I have been gifted books that I never read, so it works both ways.

They're a bunch of Green Arrow comics so that'll be fun.
*****
Okay so I chose my April TBR. Since there are going to be a lot of those national holidays for the month and national days, I wanted to go off those themes.
Autism Awareness Month/Poetry Month-
May Tomorrow Be Awake: On Poetry, Autism, and Our Neurodiverse Future
Nature Awareness Month:
Geologist Day (Apr. 2)-
How the Mountains Grew: A New Geological History of North America
Environmental Education Week (Apr. 17)-
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Easter-
Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured (Okay maybe for this I should go for Jesus, but I figure the whole Christian thing or whatever)
ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
Teen Literature Day (Apr. 13)-
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee (Young Readers Adaptation): Life in Native America
*****
And then these are going to be my side books:
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
How to Be an Antiracist
Harmke wrote: "Yesterday morning on the ferry to work (yes, I'm riding my e-bike again!) a beaver swam with us to the other side. Jeez, those beasts are ugly! They look like a tree trunk. I had never seen a beave..."
I did not realize there were beavers in Europe!!
I did not realize there were beavers in Europe!!
Ron wrote: "... Okay so I chose my April TBR. Since there are going to be a lot of those national holidays for the month and national days, I wanted to go off those themes. ..."
Wow you really put a lot of thought into it!!!!
I spend April playing catch up reading after BHM & WHM, and before AAPI reading in May. So I don't do any special directed reading in April.
But if anyone is interested in creating a post for Poetry Month reading or Autism Awareness Month reading, or anything else, you all can feel free to create posts in our General 2023 folder!!!
Wow you really put a lot of thought into it!!!!
I spend April playing catch up reading after BHM & WHM, and before AAPI reading in May. So I don't do any special directed reading in April.
But if anyone is interested in creating a post for Poetry Month reading or Autism Awareness Month reading, or anything else, you all can feel free to create posts in our General 2023 folder!!!

Come Again by Nate Powell, this was a very odd graphic novel at the end of the hippie era. It was meant (i think) to be horror but it rather missed the mark for me.
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins Volume I by Matthew Mercer I thought it was relatively decent but I'm partial to D&D and Critical Role
QOTW Everyone knows they're getting books from me. To be fair I know my parents reading tastes and my friends and I share genres so it's pretty easy. We all send each other books (generally ones we've read or they have on their wish list) We don't always wait for holidays either. I've gotten like 20 books in the last month

That I do. I might end up doing the same for May as well. There are a few that sound good so I'll be thinking ahead for that month.

PS 24/50. ATY 31/52
Finished:
The Moving Finger - prompt only words on cover -

Currently Reading:



In case anyone wonders why 2 books set in Japan right now-- I have a monthly challenge where Japan is the theme. Both these books are from my TBR Towers and I'm loving them.
QOTW: I received and give books all the time. In fact, I keep a public gift wish list on Amazon that is mostly books. I update it regularly and when friends or family want to gift me a book, they look there. I read so much and buy so many books that without that wishlist no one would ever give me books because they would be afraid I'd already have it. They all know that they don't have to buy from Amazon.
My sisters, my friends, even some of my clients and I gift books to each other. Both as actual birthday or holiday gifts, but also just passing along a great book just read.
In fact, a few years ago I read


Finished
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - 4 stars; PS #13 (published "originally" in birth year)
I threw in an extra Christie book this month so I could check off this prompt. A collection of Poirot short stories, most of which I had read already, but the title story was new to me.
Goodreads: 28/90
Popsugar: 22/50
QOTW:
I rarely buy books for anyone, although I give gift cards to be used for books. On occasion I will know a specific book my mom wants, but the book lovers in my life have hundreds of books already and I couldn't begin to know all they have read. If only they'd use Goodreads! (I try, I try)

Finished
Gallant by VE Schwab. (2022 - a book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title). This was a pretty good book. Not as great as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (2022 - a book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or amazon page). This a nice, quiet story. I like finding fantasy stories that aren’t end-of-the-world level stakes. I’m glad there’s a sequel I can look forward to.
Reading
I haven't started anything new yet.
QOTW
Often! I have a lot of readers in my life, and I like to buy them books as gifts as often as possible. Most of the gifts I gave at Christmas last year were books. I did good too! Three people told me how much they liked the book, and two people wanted more recommendations.

Finished:
I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki- a Korean memoir about a woman's experience in therapy. I didn't love it, but from the therapist's note it seems like talking so openly about mental health isn't normalized in Korea, so I can understand why it was so popular there.
-4 A book by a first-time author
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II- this was a devastating book about the Nanking massacre. Very good, very difficult to read. The human capacity for evil is overwhelming.
-23 A book with a map
Butterfly Yellow- really liked this. A middle-grade book about a Vietnamese teen refugee trying to reconnect with her younger brother. Won the Scott Odell award for Historical Fiction, but it takes place in the 70s, so I feel weird using it for the historical fiction prompt...
-48 A book that features two languages
Currently Reading:
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness- I'm loving this. Sy Montgomery is so enthusiastic about the life and the natural world. I had the chance to see her at a book reading before covid and I've been wanting to read this since then. Finally getting to it!
QotW:
I love giving books as presents. Even if people never get around to reading them, I like finding books that fit their interests. Also it gives me an excuse to shop more at bookstores!

ATY 11/52
PS 14/50
Finished:
Counterfeit (ATY books with a con, deception, or a fake) 2 stars. Two old college friends start a huge fake luxury handbag scheme. The two main characters are very unlikeable. It made it super hard to care what happens to them.
Red, White & Royal Blue (PS forbidden romance) 4 stars. Romance books are a hit or miss for me. This one I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. I especially liked that this took place over like a year. I hate romances where they know each other like 2 weeks and they are already "in love".
Currently reading:
Last Summer on State Street (no prompt)
The Power (PS book from independent bookstore)
QOTW: I gift books to only a few people in my life. My dad enjoys history books. My brother loves cookbooks. Books only work as gifts if you know the person really well.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Count of Monte Cristo (other topics)Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (other topics)
The Heart's Invisible Furies (other topics)
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (other topics)
The Paris Apartment (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Talia Hibbert (other topics)John Boyne (other topics)
Malinda Lo (other topics)
W. Bruce Cameron (other topics)
Elinor Lipman (other topics)
More...
It does look as if spring may finally have arrived for good. At least I’m hoping for no more snow or freezing temperatures!
ADMIN STUFF
Ooh! Ooh! A new poll! Help us select the ONE book for the June Monthly Group Read selection HERE! This book can be used to fulfill prompt #22 A book with a queer lead. Since June is “Pride Month” as declared by US Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. (Also acknowledged in a 2019 tweet by Donald Trump.) Per Wikipedia this originated to commemorate the Stonewall Riots which occurred at the end of June in 1969. June is increasingly recognized as “Pride Month” (for all LGBTQ+/non-cisgender folks) outside the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_pride
All 4 of these books look to be good reads!!
The March Monthly Group Read is The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh! You can find both February discussions in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE! This book can be used to fulfill prompt #7 A book with “Girl” in the title in honor of Women’s History Month in Australia, UK, and the U.S. I encourage anyone currently reading this or who has read it to stop by and post any comments/questions you may have. Or even if you just want to know more about the book. It is there for your pleasure and enjoyment! I’ll leave the March postings in this folder until Monday and then they will be moved to the “2023 Monthly Group Reads” folder into the future!
THANK YOU to Sherri for volunteering as our “reading wrangler” to facilitate April’s Monthly Group Read discussion of Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree! This book can be used to fulfill prompt #27 A #BookTok recommendation. In honor of April Fools! You might have thought this was still the 2022 Popsugar Challenge, but it is actually a prompt repeated from 2022 for the 2023 Challenge!! You can also find the two April postings in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE! I hope everyone who chooses to read this enjoys it even half as much as I did! I am honestly looking so forward to rereading it! (That's rather unusual for me!)
We are currently on the lookout for one more monthly group read discussion leader:
A "literary luminar" to lead the discussion of the May Monthly Group Read! Hmmmm...would this happen to be YOU?!? ;) Bunny by Mona Awad that can be used to fulfill prompt #24 A book with a rabbit on the cover, in honor of springtime in the Northern Hemisphere when rabbits are aplenty!
Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer! :)
Just a reminder that the comprehensive listing of 2023 Monthly Group Reads can be found HERE
Question of the Week
Do you often gift books to others?
I just received an early birthday gift from a very dear friend at the gym. It is an EJI publication, The Transatlantic Slave Trade. EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) is the organization founded by Bryan Stevenson (author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption). https://eji.org/reports/transatlantic... I find this cover image to be heartbreaking. She knows that Stevenson is a person I admire so very much and that I find his work in social justice to be effective, informative, and so inspirational! I introduced her to his book and the EJI concept and when she was in Alabama for a granddaughter’s graduation from college, she made it a point to visit EJI. She often comments that if not for me, she would have died without knowing much of her own people’s history! She knew that I LOVE to read, and that slavery and social justice are two issues I love to learn about, and that I adore Stevenson and his mission(s) in life! I made sure she and her husband were able to attend the live event when he was in Indianapolis. The only catch was that they had to sit with me! LOL Anyway, it just got me thinking whether I gift books to others…and I rarely do. Though I loan books out to others all the time! (I also make sure they get returned! :))
I think unless I feel relatively certain a specific person will enjoy a specific book I don’t often give a book as a gift. I have read before that experts recommend NOT gifting a book unless you can be certain the recipient really wants to read it. Otherwise, it may never get read!
Just wondered what everyone else thought!
Popsugar: 38/50
Nadine’s Q1 Mini-Challenge: 7/10
AtY: 46/52
RHC: 12/24
FINISHED:
*I Can't Complain: (All Too) Personal Essays by Elinor Lipman ✶✶✶✶✶ was absolutely delightful! She relates many aspects of her life with humor and grace. Very enjoyable!
POPSUGAR: #19-2020: prompt #47 A book with more than 20 letters in the title, #28, #31, #50
ATY: #3-A book with an eye-catching title, #5, #6, #13, #19, #29, #34-161 pages, #44, #45, #52
RHC: #21, #24-2015: A collection of short stories
*Repo Madness (Ruddy McCann #2) by W. Bruce Cameron ✶✶✶✶✶ is a book I have been reading from at night just before bedtime for about a week and I reached a point where I just wanted to finish it! So I did! I enjoyed the first book, but I think this one might have been even better. Cameron is one of my favorite writers and this series is a bit of a departure for him. He has yet to continue it, but if he does I’m there for any future installments! One scene had me literally laughing out loud for soooo long!
POPSUGAR: #1, #19-2020: prompt #24 A book about a subject you know nothing about, #28, #31, #46
ATY: #2, #3- A book from genre that inspired, or rekindled, your love of reading—MYSTERIES, #14, #18-Forensics, #37, #42-Alan, #43, #45, #52
RHC: #23, #24-2020: prompt #9 Read the last book in a series
*A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo ✶✶✶✶✶ was a good solid read, though, IMO, not as compelling overall as was Last Night at the Telegraph Club. which was one of my all-time favorite reads. These characters were more mature and encountered even more life-altering decisions, etc. I guess it was inevitable for me to compare this to LNatTC, though they really are two very different books, even if they both depict female-to-female relationships. I particularly appreciated the way in which the title was incorporated/illuminated!
POPSUGAR: #3, #6, #17, #19-2020: prompt #15 A book about or involving social media, #22, #31, #34, #35, #46
ATY: #2, #3-A book related to first contact, #5, #6, #13, #14-Haley, #18, #19, #26-as in LGBTQ+, #37, #41, #45, #52
RHC: NEW #16, #22, #24-2015: A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ—both
CONTINUING:
*Emma by Jane Austen
These people crack me up! If only I had had such a lazy lifestyle!! LOL Although I roll my eyes off and on at these people’s narrow lives, I am amazed at how enjoyable I find Austen’s writing to be!
*Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses by Paula McLain
*The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed
*Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard
*Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York (Mrs. ‘Arris #2) by Paul Gallico
*Beloved by Toni Morrison
PLANNED:
March-April Buddy Read:
*Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (March and April)
*Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
*Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi